More birds of prey, to catch things up. These first ones were with my lightweight backup kit, a NEX-5N and 55-210mm lens with 1.7x teleextender:

Red-shouldered hawk sitting on a handrail:

Northern harrier - very strong backlight:

An elusive merlin up a dead tree stump:

I request a pass on this one - I know it's not the best...but I was very excited! I actually had a 40mm F1.8 manual-focus Konica lens on my camera, so not exactly the thing to have for birds-in-flight...while vacationing in Disney World, this bald eagle came down right over one of the resort lakes and I had to grab a shot:

A young red-shouldered hawk sitting pretty:

These next ones were taken with my A580 DSLR and Minolta 300mm F4 APO lens with 1.4x matched TC...

A northern harrier which flew entirely too close - this isn't even cropped - he didn't fit in the frame!:

Another northern harrier close, this time sitting and also fitting a bit better in the frame:

Red-shouldered hawk swooping down for a meal:

Brave little red-winged blackbird attacking the red-shouldered hawk for being too close to its nest:

Red-shouldered hawk backlit while sitting in a tree:

Very close fly-by of red-shouldered hawk:

Something different from the raptors...I got a rare glimpse at a great horned owl last week - they're not very common around here and hard to find out in the woods, especially during the day when they're sleeping or very still and well camouflaged...this is the poppa owl, as it was guarding on a nearby tree with two owlets in a nearby nest:

Last year I FINALLY was able to buy a nice super telezoom: the Canon EF 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM. In combination with my 40D and now my new 7D I am trying to become a good wildlife photographer. I try to go out as much as possible, but with a baby on the way and a full time job I do have trouble creating enough time to actually go out in the "wilds". I did want to share some pictures I took from a buzzard last weekend. I am really happy with my 100-400 and 7D combination (though it did take me a while to get the micro adjustments at the right level; a very frustrating process).

Very nice MTK. Im sure you will find the 100-400 a great lens as so many of us have. Hopefully we will see more of your work as you get out more and play with your gear more. It would be great to see some of the wildlife you have in the netherlands

thanks , was a bit confused and couldn`t work out what it was until I got home and looked in the books.Birds of prey, I am sure they are fairly similar everywhere else, are hard work. They are not that common here and hard to get close too. They are bit more common in the open dry areas, or maybe it just that they are easier to spot there.

Same here for me...at least for some of them. A few, like cooper's hawk, can be easier to catch here because they hit suburban areas a lot - I've had one living in my backyard 6-8 months of the year, praying on doves and blue jays that come to my feeders. Northern harriers and red-shouldered hawks in our wide open wetlands areas can be pretty easy to catch if you can stand out there in the heat and wait for them, and ospreys are extremely common here, so usually no problem. Other birds of prey are much tougher: kestrels, merlins, and sharp-shinned hawks are much more elusive and stay farther away, and owls are few and far between in my area. Eagles are the toughest of all - we're generally not a good area for bald eagles, which prefer to stay farther north, so we're lucky to get a handful a year anywhere in South Florida. I've only ever seen two in my area in my 20 years living here.

That mouse just happened to be sitting there?Would like a few words form the photographer and how he got the shot, because when clicking through the shots it looks like the scene is staged and by the colouring it looks like a couple of mouses were used. Were they alive or dead mice?

That bothers me, is this in a controlled environment or is this meant to be a wildlife shot?If its all staged to get the photos, the photographer should state that, just my opinion of course.

If its a real wildlife shot, why not explain it and add a few words. If it is a genuine wildlife shot, I apologise for saying it looks staged.

When going through the portfolio, it looks like the guy has captured some great images, so hope its a genuine wildlife shot.

I know I risk sounding like an animal rights activist but if this IS staged, then I have no respect for this photographer whatsoever. The mouse never stood a chance and even though it is "just" a mouse I don't think photographers should kill animals to get a great shot. A mouse is as much a part of nature as the owl, and as a nature lover I would never harm an animal or plant to get a shot. Even if the killing isn't done by the photographer himself, I think it's just not the way to go.